Evaluation of post-blast re-entry times based on gas monitoring of return air.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bahrami D ; Rowland, James H. III ; Thomas RA ; Yuan L ; Zhou L
• Description:
  Blasting is the main method of production in many non-coal underground mining operations and produces multiple toxic gases as a result. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) requires mine operators to measure the level of toxic gases in mines as frequently as necessary to ensure they are below regulatory safety limits. The current practice uses portable gas monitors to check the concentrations of toxic gases after a fixed post-blast time. This paper studies the application of a gas monitoring system in the return entry of a limestone mine to determine a safe re-entry time. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted such a monitoring program in a limestone mine from September 2016 through May 2018. NIOSH/PMRD (Pittsburgh Mining Research Division) is endeavoring to develop workplace solutions to improve detection of and reduce the risk of hazardous conditions. This study showed that the use of gas monitoring in the return air can be a useful tool at the mine operator's disposal to detect and reduce the risk of hazardous conditions and also to reliably estimate the re-entry time. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Environmental Exposure Hazardous Substances Mining Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Safety Management Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Mining; Mining industry; Mining equipment; Underground mines; Underground mining; Miners; Toxic gases; Toxins; Mine Safety and Health Administration; MSHA; Gases; Measurement equipment; Safety; Safety monitoring; Monitors; Monitoring systems; Limestone mines; Exposure levels; Risk factors; Workers; Worker safety; Workplace solutions; Hazards; Ventilation; Blasting
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISBN:
  9781510884663
• Publisher:
  Curran Associates, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Proceedings
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  258-264
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20057558
• Citation:
  2019 SME Annual Conference & Expo and CMA 121st National Western Mining Conference: Smart Mining: Resources for a Connected World, February 24-27, 2019, Denver, Colorado. Red Hook, NY: Curran Associates, Inc., 2019 Aug; :258-264
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  2019 SME Annual Conference & Expo and CMA 121st National Western Mining Conference: Smart Mining: Resources for a Connected World, February 24-27, 2019, Denver, Colorado
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7dc847c09aedf140bc731323e8446b4703641ae07d6ad9e7b7238120dab30b8f7dcaa9b938d34d035f87873a0fe7fec262d5d13dcaf290925445e82b6de3b57d
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/247074/cdc_247074_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 168.02 KB ]